Growing Sugarcane is the main business of RFC.
The cane farming operations cover 2,700 hectares in the Burdekin region and are fully irrigated. The climate in the Burdekin region is ideally suited to sugar cane farming and the Burdekin produces the highest of sugar yields in the country.
The farm is located in one main area which reduces the costs of operation that are inherent in a geographically spread operation. The layout and setup of the farm contributes to the lowest growing cost possible for the industry. RFC is consistently one of the top yielding producers within the district and this is due to its systems and management.
RFC performs all operations of the growing cycle from
Cane planting in March each year
Cane harvesting from June to November each year
Fallow ground preparation in October to December each year
The farm is operated in 3 sections with an Irrigation Manger in control of each section overseen by the Farm Manger.
Environment
RFC farming systems are designed to reduce the impact on the environment.
All irrigation water is trapped and recycled to stop any water leaving the farm into the environment. Fertiliser programs are industry best practice to limit off farm effects.
Technology
RFC is an early adopter of Best Practice farming systems and technology. GPS and controlled traffic has been sued in operations since 2002 with the introduction of the first GPS auto steer units by Trimble into Australia.
All harvesting operations run GPS yield monitors to identify any variation in crop yield so that action can be taken to improve production.
Irrigation remote sensing and automated flood irrigation is the next technological advance for the industry to reduce water and power costs.
